Coaching during a pandemic: Fruzzetti鈥檚 first season at the helm for Plymouth South
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (BVM) — Taking over a football team can be stressful to begin with, but for Plymouth South first-year head coach Darren Fruzzetti, he’s had to deal with some different obstacles.
鈥淚t’s definitely been different,鈥� Fruzzetti said when talking about coaching football during the pandemic. 鈥淥ur summer conditioning program that used to consist of a packed weight room and 7-on-7 football was basically taken away this summer. The weight room was very limited [with] the number of students that you could have in there at a given time, so we couldn’t really build that team chemistry.聽
鈥淲e used to pack it with 40 kids and there would be a lot of comradery that goes on during the summer inside there. It’s been a lot different training out on the turf, [with] kids spread out, and it’s just been different for everybody.鈥�
Fruzzetti, a former long-time assistant coach for Plymouth South, has had to adjust on the fly to the different guidelines that have been set in place for the high school football season. With their game schedule pushed back till February, Fruzzetti will try to get his players ready during the fall.聽
鈥淲e got the go ahead to be able to practice a little bit this fall but our games got moved to the end of February to April,鈥� Fruzzetti said. 鈥淲hat we’re going to be able to do this fall is practice two or three times a week with no equipment or no contact, but just kind of get the kids out there. Basically just get them used to how we run things and maybe install a few plays here or there because we鈥檙e going to have freshmen with us too.鈥�
Fruzzetti is taking over for long-time Panthers head coach Scott Fry, who stepped down last year after his 16th season with the program. Fry, who has helped lead Plymouth South to three league titles and two Super Bowl appearances, has a special connection with his former assistant and new Panthers head coach.
鈥淸It’s] kind of a unique situation,鈥� Fruzzetti said. 鈥淪cott coached me in high school when I went to Plymouth North, he was the defensive coordinator. I’ve known him a long time, I was fortunate to learn under his tutelage. I鈥檝e kind of seen him build Plymouth South.聽
鈥淲hen he took it over, it was a zero win team and I鈥檝e been able to see how he implements different policies, how he runs things, and just how he holds kids accountable, but treats everybody with respect. I don’t think I could have had a better mentor to set me up in the right direction, to bring this thing full circle, and keep the tradition going.鈥�
The new Plymouth South head coach knows a lot about the program, after being with the team the past 12 seasons. Fruzzetti has risen through the ranks of coaching to get where he鈥檚 at today.
鈥淥ut of college, I was in financial sales and was looking for a career change. I had seen coach Fry and I remember him saying that, 鈥榶ou would be really good in education, you should take the math exam,鈥� because he knew I was a finance guy. So I passed my math teachers test and he got me into coaching right away.聽
鈥淚 coached linebackers and running backs for seven years and then for five seasons, I鈥檝e been the offensive coordinator, so really, I took my time climbing the ranks. But I feel like I鈥檝e seen enough of all aspects of the program to have a pretty good grasp of what goes on.鈥�
Last year, Plymouth South made it to their second Division 4 Super Bowl in program history. The Panthers would come up just short, losing to an undefeated Melrose team. Although the Panthers were unable to capture a Division 4 championship, the experience of playing at Gillette Stadium was special for everyone involved.
鈥淚t鈥檚 different, you walk out of the tunnel and you’re on the same field that the Pats play on.鈥� Fruzzetti said. 鈥淓verybody is on one side of the stadium so it鈥檚 louder than you would think, when you have the sideline with all the fans on it. It’s an experience that as a coach, I don’t know how many more chances I鈥檒l have to walk out on to that kind of field.聽
鈥淔or the kids, for them to be able to experience that, and as a player myself, I would have loved to have that kind of experience. To be able to get out there and compete for a state championship is a testament to how hard they worked. We lost game one last year and then they rattled off 10 straight. They really found themselves after that loss and they said this isn鈥檛 how it’s going to go and they turned it around.鈥�
With a lot of returning starters, the Panthers will look to pick up right where they left off under their new head coach.
鈥淲e have a good nucleus coming back,鈥� Fruzzetti said. 鈥�Although they鈥檙e probably not going to get a chance to play at Gillette Stadium this year, because of the way the schedule works out, they still have a chance to defend their Patriot League championship, which I think is really important to these kids to just kind of prove to everybody that last year wasn’t a fluke.聽
鈥淲e鈥檒l play anytime, anywhere, against anybody, and whenever they tell us we can buckle up the chin straps, we鈥檙e going to be out there.鈥�
